


#window to the sole

by reversedhymnal (Hymn)



Series: <3 [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Chatting & Messaging, Gummiphones (Kingdom Hearts), KH3 spoilers, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Social Media Fic, Spoilers, bad pun titles woo, but let's be real i'm just thinking of ways to get these two goofs to smooch, i thought about making this gen, in-game fic, it's just silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21832978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hymn/pseuds/reversedhymnal
Summary: “Oh,” said Mickey, voice quiet.Riku could guess why. Barely a minute before Riku had done something strange and new: he’d made public his idle fears. He wasn’t entirely certain why he’d done it, but he had. New gummiphone in hand, the media feed app open with a photo of his shadow, long and fuzzy-edged, stretching across Radiant Garden’s mosaiced ground pulled up, and between one heartbeat and the next Riku’d typed out a post about Terra and Ansem and Riku’s own, skittish worries.Trifling ones. Hardly worth Riku’s own time, let alone that of others. But Riku had posted it anyway, and now it was there on the feed under his name for any of his friends to see.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: <3 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576135
Comments: 13
Kudos: 139





	#window to the sole

**Author's Note:**

> i will never get over riku using :\

“Oh,” said Mickey, voice quiet.

Riku could guess why. Barely a minute before Riku had done something strange and new: he’d made public his idle fears. He wasn’t entirely certain why he’d done it, but he had. New gummiphone in hand, the media feed app open with a photo of his shadow, long and fuzzy-edged, stretching across Radiant Garden’s mosaiced ground pulled up, and between one heartbeat and the next Riku’d typed out a post about Terra and Ansem and Riku’s own, skittish worries. 

Trifling ones. Hardly worth Riku’s own time, let alone that of others. But Riku had posted it anyway, and now it was there on the feed under his name for any of his friends to see. 

Maybe that was why he’d done it, though. Riku knew well the way dark thoughts might poison you if held on to too tightly. Better to let them seep out, let the light shine in on them, than fester alone and cold at the core of him. At his side, Riku’s now empty hand flexed, as if seeking the hard, foreign edge of the gummiphone once more.

Riku said, “Don’t worry about it. Just testing out the new phone, didn’t have anything else to share.”

“Riku, don’t make light of your feelings,” Mickey admonished, slowing his pace so that he and Riku were side-by-side once more. The king’s short stature meant that Riku’s gaze, determinedly fixed on his booted feet, was still easily able to catch the worried frown Mickey sent his way. 

Riku didn’t have much choice, then, but to meet Mickey’s eyes and find a smile, weak and slanted though it was. “I’m not. I just don’t… I don’t know, I don’t really have anything else to say about it? That was all it was, just a thought. I was only wondering about it, a little.”

“Well, I--”

Riku’s gummiphone trumpeted an alert, startling them both. 

“ _Goodness_ ,” Mickey complained. “That about made me jump out of my skin! What was that about?”

Fumbling out his phone, Riku saw a little yellow number at the top right of the media feed app. He frowned, staring at it, and nearly threw the thing in the air when he saw the number jump up, from one to two, then steadily all the way up to five.

“Uh. Chip and Dale didn’t rig these to self-destruct, did they?”

“No! ...At least, I hope they didn’t. Why, what is it?!” Mickey asked, bouncing on his toes to try and see the screen. 

Riku knelt, showing him. Then he went ahead and risked explosion, tapping on the icon and pulling up the feed. That little number was now blinking in the top left corner, so Riku clicked that as well, and read aloud, “You have five new comments?”

“Oh,” said Mickey, deflating. “Is that all?”

“No need to sound so disappointed,” Riku laughed.

Huffing, the king started walking again. Riku stood, following suit, and let the king gain some distance before he navigated his way to these comments. Riku only had one post on the media feed, after all. He knew what the comments would be for, and he had a fairly good guess as to who they would belong to, as well.

He didn’t know why this was so strange. He’d spoken to Sora face to face recently, been close enough to touch, to smell. But now… 

Now they were worlds apart once again.

It _was_ strange, Riku realized, to have a passing thought and to be able to share it; stranger still to have it answered. How long had it been since Riku and Sora were able to stay in contact so readily?

Destiny Islands, Riku was certain. Home, and the innocence of their childhood, before Riku opened a door to darkness. And after that, only during that brief respite before Yen Sid called on them both for their Mastery exams. It wasn’t that long ago, but it felt like a summer dream, hazy and indistinct with all that had so recently passed. Riku’s heart was heavy and too big in his chest, his fingers suddenly clumsy. 

When he finally tapped on the alert, pulling up the post and Sora’s comments with it, Riku couldn’t help how he held his breath, anxiety creeping in.

 **SORA:** jeez riku you need to lighte  
**SORA:** DANG IT  
**SORA:** you need to LIGHTEN UP i still dont really have the hang of this! techno gizmos are so weird  
**SORA:** congrats loser this is my first ever comment and its on your emo post  
**SORA:** ansem doesnt look anything like you

Riku let his breath out, a gusty exhale shot through with laughter. He forgot why he’d held it; anxiety lost its tentative grip on him. And just like earlier, when he’d first made the post, Riku didn’t stop to think about it, didn’t try too hard to understand the _why_ of it; he just let himself reach out. 

**RIKU:** Wow.  
**RIKU:** I’m really impressed you spelled all those words correctly, Sora.  
**RIKU:** But you’re missing some punctuation.

When he finished responding, Riku stared at the screen in quiet surprise, marveling at how natural it felt, how easy, to bicker and banter as if they were truly in the same place. Riku could practically hear the words in his ears, Sora’s voice so familiar, his personality apparent even through text. 

_ansem doesnt look anything like you_

Riku wasn’t certain it was true, but it was good to be told. Already the weight of the worry, the niggling fear, was lightening, evaporating in the face of Sora’s effortless, goodhearted idiocy. 

_Thank you_ , he thought, but couldn’t quite say.

 **SORA:** shut up post something dumb for me  
**SORA:** quick

 **RIKU:** What? Why.

 **SORA:** so i don’t have to think about you being all sad and mopey  
**SORA:** i’m not there to make you look dumb so you have to do it yourself  
**SORA:** cmon rikuuuu

 **RIKU:** How is me looking dumb supposed to help?

 **SORA:** JUST TRUST ME

Riku once again found himself not thinking too hard about his reasons, or why he couldn’t feel the sharp edges of his heart anymore, heavy and bulky in his chest. He didn’t need to, after all. He knew the answer without needing to try: his heart had gone liquid and shining, melted into warmth that fizzled through all the parts that made Riku who he was, all those dark paths filled with light. He understood why he’d made the post in the first place, why his thumb had slipped nervously on the screen when he’d gone to open the comments up. 

He thought, _my heart is always seeking out his_ , and couldn’t find it in himself to be sorry or embarrassed for it. There was only room for gratitude and relief.

“Hey, Mickey. Hold up,” Riku called. “I have to take a picture of my boots.”

“...Uh. Why?”

\---

**RIKU:**

_A picture of Riku’s boots planted firmly on the mosaiced ground of Radiant Garden, taken from straight above._

I kind of miss my old shoes. Even if the laces WERE too long.  
#window to the sole #one foot in front of the other #the three fairies got tired of me in yellow #i guess #dumb post #sora #happy now?

 _comments_  
**SORA:** …..THAT IS SUCH A LAME DUMB POST RIKU  
**SORA:** YOUR STILL TALKING ABOUT BEING SAD  
**SORA:** RIKU WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU  
**RIKU:** Why are you shouting at me through text.  
**SORA:** ITS WHAT YOU DESERVE  
_comments_  
**FAUNA:** That shade DID wash you out a little bit, dear, but I’m sorry there isn’t enough yellow!  
**RIKU:** That’s okay, the clothes are great. Thanks again!  
**MERRYWEATHER:** I told you to let me design them!!  
**FAUNA:** Oh, don’t you start!  
**MERRYWEATHER:** >:(  
**SORA:** see! this proves my point.  
**RIKU:** What point?  
**SORA:** that answem doesn’t look anything like you  
**SORA:** answem  
**SORA:** DANG IT. a n s e m  
**SORA:** he could rock the yellow, cause he was tan  
**SORA:** youve never been tan in your LIFE  
**RIKU:** :|  
**SORA:** ALL YOU EVER DO IS BURN HAHA  
**RIKU:** Island life was tough for me.  
**SORA:** no wonder you wanted out haha  
**RIKU:** …  
**SORA:** oh cmon we can totally joke about this now  
**RIKU:** Can we?  
**SORA:** of course :D

Mickey hummed, a too-loud, rather pointed sound, which distracted Riku from the lengthy exchange happening on the gummiphone’s feed. He hadn’t expected it to devolve into that. His and Sora’s original comments on the post had been simple, short, and then Fauna had commented only a little later, and next thing he knew Riku’s skin tone was being mocked, and the single worst thing he had ever done was being used as a joke.

“What?” Riku asked, jerking his head up to look at the king.

His heart was back in his chest, reformed, and pounding away at a wild tempo. He didn’t know yet how to explain _that_ , or the way he felt exhilarated and guilty and wide-eyed, but he had to admit he wasn’t trying too hard to figure it out. He was too busy reeling. 

Mickey gave Riku a pointed look.

“What?” Riku repeated, clearing his throat so that _this_ time it came out with a more normal tone of voice. He tried to push Sora’s words out of his mind. “What is it, what’s going on?”

“Just thinking,” Mickey said, spinning his own phone on his finger like a showman’s trick. 

“Oh.” Riku raised an eyebrow. “About?”

The king nodded at the blur of his phone. “This might be Chip and Dale’s greatest invention yet.”

“Really? I mean, it’s clever and all, but--”

“When we went into the datascape,” Mickey interrupted, “I think it was the first time I’d ever really gotten to see the way you and Sora work. How you push and pull at each other’s edges, helping to give shape, boundaries, support. You need each other. And the most I’d ever gotten to hear you two at it was in a digital world.”

Riku stared, uncertain how to respond, or-- or _feel_ , even, about what the king just said.

Mickey stopped spinning the phone, holding it aloft instead, turned on and open to Riku and Sora’s comment conversation. He smiled at Riku, practically beaming. “This is good,” Mickey told him. “It’s really, really good.”

“It’s not like we didn’t-- Sora and I talk all the time. We talked on Destiny Islands,” Riku protested. “When we were back home, before your letter.”

“Ah, but now we’re on an adventure, Riku!”

“So?”

Mickey put away his phone, shrugging. “It’s special, is all.”

Riku wasn’t sure if he agreed with that choice of adjective, but it was certainly different, that much was true. He and Sora and Kairi had talked and talked and talked, from sunrise to sunset, on the golden beaches and in their parents’ kitchens, on the roof of the school that Kairi alone had gone to, left behind and frustrated. But it was easy to share secrets in the safety of ordinary life, in the quiet before the storm. 

It was easier to forgive past sins in a time of peace, than when every moment reminded them of the choices they'd made, the regrets they harbored. All of the mistakes.

Back home, Riku had almost forgotten he’d ever opened a door.

Here, all he did was remember.

Riku glanced down at his phone, at Sora’s words, no doubt spoken from the heart despite the digital interface. Riku was still remembering, of course, but he found himself smiling while doing it. Ready assurance that all your past transgressions really had been forgiven would do that, he supposed.

“Yeah,” Riku agreed, “I guess you’re right.”

“Shucks,” Mickey winked. “Was there ever any doubt?”

\---

**SORA:** rikuuuuu whered you go  
 **SORA:** googy says i might have made you uncomfortable?  
 **SORA:** gooFy  
 **SORA:** if youre not ready to joke about it thats fine  
 **SORA:** but i mean  
 **SORA:** IT WAS FUNNY WASNT IT???  
 **RIKU:** Sorry, the king needed to speak to me.  
 **RIKU:** It’s fine, we can joke about it.  
 **SORA:** you sure??  
 **RIKU:** Yeah, I'm sure.  
 **RIKU:** (:  
 **SORA:** yesssssss  
 **SORA:** finally a smile!  
 **SORA:** :D :D :D :D  
 **RIKU:** What can I say, you have that effect.  
 **RIKU:** Thanks, Sora.  
 **SORA:** aw man <3  
 **SORA:** ANY TIME BUDDY

\---

Riku stared at that little heartmark on his phone’s screen for a long time, far longer than he should have. But sleep wouldn’t come, and Riku _liked_ having the gummiphone in his hand, the physical proof that Sora and Riku were connected, not only through their hearts, but through a device that allowed them to communicate, to _share_. When he finally did force himself to exit out of his post and refresh the media feed, one last time before he tried again to sleep, the picture at the top was courtesy of **DONALD** , and the caption read:

definitely NOT a sleeping beauty  
#stop the snoring #need rest #send help #gummi ship #too damn small

It was a photo of Sora sacked out in the pilot’s chair of his ship, limbs everywhere, jacket rumpled, hair a mess. He was _definitely_ drooling, mouth open and eyes closed. Behind him, Goofy was reaching a hand over the back of the chair, fingers extended like he was about to pinch Sora’s nose closed.

Riku grinned.

Maybe the king was right. Maybe the gummiphone was Chip and Dale’s best invention yet. Because Riku had never had his doubts turned around so fast before. His and Sora’s hearts were connected, had _always_ been connected, and Riku was no longer surprised at how readily his reached out for Sora’s, again and again.

But it really was something special, being able to stay connected like _this_.

 _comments_  
**RIKU:** Quick, take a video! He always claims he doesn’t snore. Time to prove him wrong!  
**DONALD:** mission accomplished!  
**SORA:** TRAITORS. ALL OF YOU  
**RIKU:** (:  
**DONALD:** (:  
**GOOFY:** (:  
**MICKEY:** (:  
**SORA:** not you 2 your majesty D:

Worlds away, wearily treading the path of darkness once more with the future uncertain and grim, Riku found that his face was aching from smiling so much. Gladness and light kept spilling in, blooming vibrant in Riku’s heart.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i spent a week trying to catch up on all the games i missed between KH2 and KH3 (ALL OF THEM, I DIDN'T GET TO PLAY ANY OF THEM) and it was a dizzying amount of hours full of FEELS as i watched cutscene movies (ALL OF THEM, I WATCHED ALL OF THEM) because i have FINALLY gotten my hands on KH3. \o/ i'm currently running around Arrendelle making Sora take selfies in front of the northern lights and thinking about how much kairi and riku are probably face palming over this goof and all his social media posts, so if anyone wants to comment PLS NO SPOILERS past Monsters Inc, thank you kindly <3
> 
> thank you very much for reading! :D


End file.
